Red Feather Lakes

It sure didn't take me long to play another tournament after Am Worlds. This past weekend was the Red Feather Open at the two courses up near Red Feather Lakes, Colorado. These two courses are rough and tumble to match the Dude Ranch feel that both of these courses are at. So perhaps Beaver Meadows is more of a Dude Resort rather than a Dude Ranch but you get the picture. Basically this means rough natural tee pads that are lumpy and inconsistent. This was a problem for me back at The High Plains Challenge this year if you remember so that naturally puts the fear into playing this tournament. Even so, my expectations comming into this tournament were very high.

Sadly the story for this tournament basically fits in with my experience at worlds. You start playing really well and then expect things to be even better and ultimately you end up falling short of what you really think you can do. I am learning that this is a natural thing for most disc golfers. Let's be honest, what disc golfer have you talked to about their round that hasn't been able to find about 4 throws that they could have saved. I mean perhaps Paul McBeth in has last round in the Memorial this year, or even Joe Roevere at this very tournament, but other than that.

I had a fair round the first round and then despite my best efforts was 4 throws worse the second round. Ultimately that put me 9 throws behind the leaders after two rounds in advanced. It would have been much further behind Joe who ended up winning Open by 22 throws so, go figure. The tough side of this was that despite how well I felt I played the first round, I honestly felt like I was just off by about 5 degrees on most of my throws the second round. Both of these rounds were at Beaver Meadows so you can imagine the same shots from the first round and then just throw discs like you just learned how to play. It is a tough reality that no matter how hard one fights just becomes frustrating.

The good news is that I was able to regather myself, and despite appearing to be totally out of it, I shot the second best score in Advanced in the final round on Sunday at Sundance Trail. That of course allowed me to climb the ladder again and finish in the cash yet again in an Advanced tournament in the State of Colorado.

Well, Joe was clearly tearing up in Open, it really got me thinking as to what the difference really is. Looking at my mental capabilities, I have to think that the real difference is all about the brain. It is about making good decisions and having the mental confidence in what can be done. I am sure there is a way to test and practice improving a strong mental game, but to a certain extent this has to be something that some people just have and others just don't. So, how strong am I mentally? That is the question, only time can give me the answer.